The Minor Family of Somerset

Samuel was educated to be a lawyer, and soon after his marriag
e here moved toVermont where he expected to acquire a large qua
nity of land. An article byPliny H. White of Coventry, Vermo
n in the Burllington "Free Press" gave thisaccount (from the Av
ery Source)
"There are three Avery's Gores in the State, one each in Addison
,Essex and Franklin Counties. In the former Days therewere thr
ee others, and perhaps more, but they have ceased to exist. Sam
uelAvery, whose name they bear, was in 1782 and at least two ye
ars later, a deputy Sheriff for cumberland county, and keeper o
f the jail at Westminster. There is still on file in the Secret
ary of Stte's office, an account of hs services in connection wi
th the trial of Timonthy Church, the Phelpses and otherCumberla
nd men, who were indicted for riotous resistance to the authorit
iesof Vermont. Avery continued to live at Westminster til 1799
, and perhaps longer.
Many years previous to 1780, Avery and his associates had bough
t of Col. Henry Lydius, two townships, one of 28,000 acres lyin
g North of Otter Creek, and the other of 24,000 acres, adjoinin
g and south of Otter Creek. Lydiuswas an Indian trader and a l
and speculator at Albany New York, who in 1732 had what purported t
o be dded executed by certain Mohawk Indians, conveying two imme
nse tracts of land, one of which extended 60 miles from the mout
h of Otter Creek and was 24 miles wide. He divided this into 3
5 townships of about 26squares in each, and sold several of the
m. In 1744 he procured from Gove. Shirley, of Massachusetts
, a paper confirming the name of the King of England,the titl
e acquired from the Indians. The State of New York, however, wh
olly ignored the title of Lydius and Granted the same land to ot
her persons. (See "Halls Early History of Vermont, Appendix 8)
In 1780, Avery petitioned theLegislature of Vermont for a confi
rmation of his title to the lands purchasedof Lydius, but it ap
peared upon examination that they had already been Granted by th
e State to other persons, and it ws thus made impossible to comp
lywith the petition. He had previously entered a caveat again
s making such Grants, but probably the caveat was not in season
. The next year the petition was renewed. It affirmed that Ave
ry had been nerly 20 years trying to perfecthis title; that h
e was 'fory Days in the wilderness' without shelter, surveying t
hem; that after the Lydius title was treated as void he was dela
yed seven years procuring a confirmation from New York, and the
n only succeded by paying fees to the amount of 800 pounds, an
d incurring other expenses amounting in all to about 2,000 pound
s which nearly exhausted all his resources, andwhat he probabl
y though would be the most influential with the Legislature, tha
t he had even been a fast friend of this and the United State, a
nd earlyand ever, publicly and privately, espoused the cause o
f the New Hampshire Grants agains the proceedings of New York
. The petition, however, did not avai;nor was it till 1789 tha
t he was able to procure the passage of a resolutionGranting hi
m 52,000 acres of unlocated lands to be found therein, for suc
hmoderate fees as shall be deemed just and euitable.
Avery could not locate his land, nor even a fourth part of it, i
n one body, and accordingly he locatedit in parcels wherever h
e could. The larges parcel was in Orleans Co, Westof Newport
, and contained 11,080 acres. The next parcel in size was in Es
sex Co, south of Norton and contain 10,685 acres. It is mountai
nous land, andremains uninhabited to this Day. He located 9,72
3 acres in Franklin County,south of Montgomery, 8,744 acres i
n Addison Co, east of Ripton, 5,970 acresin Chittenden Co, nort
heast of Kirby; and 1,318 acres in Windham County, betweenAthens a
nd Grafton. Some of these lands he lost by means of 'squatter s
overeignty,' and it is not likely that he ever rece